William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket (26 August 1828 – 1 April 1897) was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral and

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Life

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, he was the eldest son of John Plunket, 3rd Baron Plunket and Charlotte Bushe. Plunket was educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

and

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

(B.A. 1853; M.A. 1864) before being appointed chaplain and private secretary to his uncle, the Bishop of Tuam, in 1857, a post he held for seven years. The following year, he became Rector of Kilmoyan and Cummer in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. In 1864, he returned to

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of St Patrick's Cathedral, of which he was appointed

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

in 1869. In 1876, Lord Plunket (as he became on succeeding his father in 1871) was consecrated

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

, and in 1884 he was finally appointed Archbishop of Dublin, an office he held until his death. In 1871 he inherited Old Connaught and decided to move into the house and surrounding property as he had spent a lot of time there with his grandfather. He was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral from 1884 until 1887 (when he was succeeded by his brother-in-law's nephew William Greene). Plunket received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1888. He also served as a Commissioner of Education from 1895 onwards and was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was a university in Ireland that existed from 1879 to 1909. It was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the ...

. He was instrumental in developing the Kildare Place Schools (the Church of Ireland teacher training college), and he was an advocate and supporter of the reformed faith in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Family

In 1863 he married Anne Lee Guinness, daughter of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness. Their son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

was to have a successful career in government administration. Another son,

Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

, served as Bishop of Meath and was the father of Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam. His sister married John Darley, bishop of Kilmore, Elphin, and Ardagh. His wife having predeceased him in 1889, Lord Plunket died aged 68 in

, and he was buried in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

. His statue near

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of t ...

, Dublin is a landmark.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunket, William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket, William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Anglican archbishops of Dublin Anglican bishops of Meath 4 Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Deans of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Ordained peers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People educated at Cheltenham College Christian clergy from Dublin (city) Irish Anglican archbishops